News

Rotary President Nominee 2019 – 2020

Mark Daniel Maloney, of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, USA, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2019-20. He will be declared the president-nominee on 1 October if no challenging candidates have been suggested.

“The clubs are where Rotary happens,” says Maloney, an attorney. He aims to support and strengthen clubs at the community level, preserve Rotary’s culture as a service-oriented membership organization, and test new regional approaches for growth.

“With the eradication of polio, recognition for Rotary will be great and the opportunities will be many,” he says. “We have the potential to become the global powerhouse for doing good.”

Maloney is a principal in the law firm of Blackburn, Maloney, and Schuppert LLC, with a focus on taxation, estate planning, and agricultural law. He represents large farming operations in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, and has chaired the American Bar Association’s Committee on Agriculture in the section of taxation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Alabama State Bar Association, and the Alabama Law Institute.

He has been active in Decatur’s religious community, chairing his church’s finance council and a local Catholic school board. He has also served as president of the Community Foundation of Greater Decatur, chair of Morgan County Meals on Wheels, and director of the United Way of Morgan County and the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.

A Rotarian since 1980, Maloney has served as an RI director; trustee and vice chair of The Rotary Foundation; president’s aide; zone coordinator; and a leader on the Future Vision and 2014 Sydney Convention Committees. He serves on the Operations Review Committee and has served on the Rotary Peace Centers Committee. He has received the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award. Maloney and his wife, Gay, are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, and Bequest Society members.

Rotary International

President Elect 2018 – 2019

Barry Rassin, of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2018-19. He will be declared the president-elect on 1 September if no challenging candidates have been suggested.

As president, Rassin aims to strengthen our public image and our use of digital tools to maximize Rotary’s reach.

“Those who know what good Rotary clubs do will want to be a part of it, and we must find new models for membership that allow all interested in our mission to participate,” he says. “With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to be part of and support a membership organization that accomplishes so much good around the world.”

Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida and is the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser. He is a lifetime member of the American Hospital Association and has served on several boards, including the Quality Council of the Bahamas, Health Education Council, and Employer’s Confederation.

A Rotarian since 1980, Rassin has served Rotary as director and is vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran.

Rassin received Rotary’s highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.

Rassin’s nomination follows Sam F. Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International president-elect.

END Polio NOW

In order to increase awareness and giving to PolioPlus we are rolling out a new Social Media campaign to

coincide with the End Polio Now torch arriving at the International Convention in June.

The torches were started as a project of the Rotary Club of Madras who has overseen the travel through

multiple countries, clubs, and the past two International Conventions, raising awareness and funds to end

polio. This year the torch will travel from Madras to Chattanooga (home of President John Germ). This is

where the 100-mile relay, to coincide with the 100 year Foundation celebration, will start. It will culminate

Saturday morning at the Grand Opening of the House of Friendship in Atlanta.

In an effort to maximize this impact, we are asking each of you this coming Tuesday April 4 after 14:00

CDT to:

1) Go to Endpolio.org and make your personal contribution.

2) Upload the attached photo of the Virtual Torch to post on your Facebook and Social Media

accounts along with a message to challenge five friends.

3) E-mail this letter of explanation every District Governor in your Group and ask them to do

the same on their District Facebook page and their other social media pages. They should

encourage their Club Presidents to do the same. Remind them to make their personal

contribution first!

4) Finally, ask your District Governors to challenge five friends to do the same! The friends do

not have to be Rotarians as we want to spread the word as far as possible through social media.

Remember ALL of these contributions will be matched 2:1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and

we have an opportunity to massively engage the world in getting the word out to end polio as the torch

makes its way to ZERO cases! Mark your calendars now for the April 4th kick off and help us carry the

torch to the convention in Atlanta and finish the race.

Thank-you for all you are doing in the fight to END POLIO! We will see ZERO cases and the world will be

free from polio because of you and Rotarians around the world!

So let’s GO VIRAL to END POLIO NOW!

Robert Hall

Global Coordinator, End Polio Now Fundraising

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APPS that save Lives

For years Apple and RED have worked together to fight AIDS in Africa. This efford is now available in the App Store,

from 24 November to 7 December, purchasing a participating (product) RED, the proceeds will go to the Global Fund.

Rotary International Polio Ambassador, Angélique Kidjo

The latest from Rotary Leader, just click on the heading to go to the site.

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Rotary Serving 109 Years

As Rotary International celebrates its 109th year, many clubs worldwide celebrated in their own special way. PR Liaison in Cape Town (D9350) together with her PR team managed to get their DG Vyv Deacon interviewed on Expresso TV which is super. The interview can be seen by clicking on “Expresso TV”

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NEWS RELEASE

Rotary releases US$35.9 million to fight polio in Africa and Asia

EVANSTON, Ill. (18 Feb. 2014) — The continued fight to eliminate polio gets an additional $36 million boost from Rotary in support of polio immunization activities and research to be carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which aims to end the disabling viral disease worldwide by 2018.

The funding commitment comes at a critical time as the eradication initiative focuses on stopping polio in the three countries where the virus remains endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Stopping polio in those countries is crucial in order to halt the recent spate of outbreaks in countries where the disease had previously been beaten and where mass immunizations of children via the oral polio vaccine must continue until global eradication is achieved.

The Rotary grants include $6.8 million for Afghanistan, $7.7 million for Nigeria and $926,000 for Pakistan. Grant amounts are based on requests from eradication initiative partners UNICEF and the World Health Organization, which work with the governments of polio-affected countries to plan and carry out immunization activities.

UNICEF will use a grant of $2.73 million to bolster vaccination activities throughout the Horn of Africa as part of an on-going response to an outbreak that began in 2013 and has now infected more than 200 children. The so-called “imported” cases are linked to the strain of polio endemic to Nigeria, underscoring the need to stop the virus in the endemic countries.

WHO also received $934,000 to study the impact of introducing injectable, inactivated polio vaccine into the immunization program as part of the initiative’s endgame plan, as the goal of global eradication nears.

Unrelated to this round of grants, Rotary released $500,000 in December 2013 as an emergency response to the polio outbreak in strife-torn Syria, which had not reported polio since 1999. Through Jan. 31, there were 23 confirmed cases in Syria since October 2013, all traceable to the polio strain circulating in Pakistan.

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 369 confirmed so far for 2013.

Rotary’s main responsibilities within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, and social mobilization. To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year.

About Rotary

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.